First Training of the New Year

On the first, I did little. No training, just lounging, lunch with our son, and then a ride to Noxapater to see Aunt Mary. But didn't you just go see her during the Thanksgiving break? Yes, and I will go back during Spring break if not before. She is my last aunt, and she is 90-years old. How many more times will I get to see her?

So Monday, I did my first training of the new year. Of course I started in the pool with 2,050 yards. I did a 500 for time and swam 8:27. That is not that good, but it is far better than the 7:01 I swam last week over 400 yards. I checked my watch off the wall after 400 and it read 6:47. I guess I am starting to get a little bit of my push back. 

On the road I shuffled 6.09 miles. Isn't that a little too much for Monday. Ordinarily it is. I let my legs make the decisions and that is how it wound up.

At the gym, I did a push workout. That included the bench press, the seated overhead press, and some shoulder stuff. I ended with a swim circuit. A swim circuit? I call it that. It was a set of high repetition lateral raises, followed by a set of swim pulls, and going instantly into the skierrg. Wait, that wasn't all. I then went to the heavy bag and after that hopped onto the treadmill for a short easy walk.

The idea was, the lateral raises get some blood flowing to the deltiods, a muscle highly involved in swimming. Then the Swim Pull mimics the freestyle pull in the water and overloads those muscles thus working sports specific strength. The skierg uses the same muscles but in a high aerobic/threshold level. After that, I am breathing like a man about to die. The heavy bag again makes the shoulders and arms keep working and the finish on the treadmill teaches the leg muscles to burn off that lactic acid that has build up in the blood stream and is flowing around the body shutting things down. If I can stick to that, it should transfer to the water with some improved performances. 

Thus, my first training day of 2023 was a solid one. And I have more ideas about how to build fitness for the pool. I have a new toy coming that should up the ante and give me more options for improving my cardiovascular system as well as my lactic acid buffering abilities. Thank you, Jesus, for goals and ideas and motivation.